Improvement in corn-harvesters



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.

CLEMENT SMITH SIULL, OF POOLESVILLE, MARYLAND.

IMPROVEMENT "IN CORN-HARVESTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 112,191, dated February28, 1871.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CLEMENT SMITH STULL, of Ioolesville, in the countyof Montgomery and State of Maryland, haveinvented an Improved Machinefor Cutting and Harvesting` Indian Corn; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full and exact description thereof, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawing, making part of this specification-Figure l being a top view of the machine Fig. 2, a side elevationthereof 5 Fig. 3, arear elevation of the same.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all of the figures.

Let A represent the platform of the machine; B, the driving-wheel nearone side of the platform, and C a small wheel or caster to support theother side of the platform.

The machine is drawn by means as represented, or the equivalent thereof,the line of draft being nearly through the driving-Wheel.

I notch the front edge of the platform A at a., to gather the stalks ofcorn and direct them to the cutters, in connection with concavely-curvedor equivalent form of knives D D, revolving in a horizontal plane closeover the platform, so as to sweep across the inner angle of the saidnotch and cut olf the stalks gathered therein.

The upper edges of the sides of the notch are or may be of steel andsharp, so as to produce a shearing cut, in connection with the revolvingknives.

The knives D D receive their motion from the driving-wheel B by means ofa bevel cogwheel, I), on the face thereof, gearing into a bevel-pinion,c, on a vertical shaft, d, and by a belt or band, f, passing from apulley, g, on the said shaft d to a pulley, h, on the shaft i of theknives; or any equivalent means may be employed.

Upon the vertical shaft d is a set of gathering-arms, E E, preferablyconcavely curved on their front sides, and revolving'over the knives DD, so as to sweep the corn-stalks backward as fast as they are cut offby the knives. I arrange these arms in combination with a'guide rod orbar, G, which is secured to a standard, l, on the front outer edge ofthe platform, and extends therefrom in a curved direction backward andacross the rear side of the platform, in a position nearly concentricwith the gathering-arms E E, substantially as represented in Fig. 1, sothat the said arms will sweep the corn-stalks backward, and at the sametime, with the aid of the guide-rod, will lay them down in parallelpositions across the rear part of the platform.

I employ a receivingboard, H, inclined backward upon or over the rearedge of the platform A, so as to receive the stalks as they are sweptbackward and laid transversely across the same by the gathering-arms E Eand guide-rod G, this inclined board acting,in combination with a rackor set of teeth, I, which project upward from behind the said inclinedboard, to retain the corn-stalks there on till a bunch or gavel ofdesired size has been gathered, and then, on lowering the rack ont ofthe Way, the stalks slide 0E from the board, which has sufficientinclination to canse them to slide down by their own gravity.

The inclined board is concave, and lower on its upper edge, on, at oneend than at the other end, substantially as shown, to allow thecorn-stalks to readily fall over thev same upon its back surface, andyet hold them all thereon.

The rack I is composed of a head or bar, u, with upwardly-proj ectingteeth or pins 1J p.

The head or bar n is attached to a handle or lever, r, which is pivotedat s to the platform or other stationary part of the machine,

so that the driver or attendant, by raising or lowering the front endthereof, can lower or raise the rack.

When the front end of the lever is held down the rack-teeth p p projectupward behind the inclined board H, and retain the cornstalks in placethereon; but on raising the front end of the lever the rack-teeth arelowered out of' the way to let the corn-stalks slide off from theinclined board.

Loops or rods t t project backward from the inclined board or theplatform to embrace the teeth p p, as shown, and clear the cornl boardH, and discharging-rackI, substantially stalks from the teeth when therack is 10W- as and for the purpose herein specified.

ered. Y Specification signed by me this 9th day of The machine may beduplicated, so as to cut May, 1870. two rows of corn at once.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is- Witnesses:

The combination and arrangement of the I. T. FLETGHALL, gathering-arms EE, guide-rod Gr, receiving ROBERTUS TRUNDLE.

CLEMENT SMITH STULL.

